4 injured, suspect is dead in U.C. Merced stabbing
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- UC Merced said four people were injured and the suspect was killed after a stabbing incident on campus. Among those were two students, a student adviser, and a construction worker. They are all expected to recover.
UC Merced officials held a press conference at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday in regards to the attacks on campus.
Around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, police say 18-year-old student Faisal Mohammad stabbed four people. According to officials, one student was stabbed inside a classroom along with a contract worker when he attempted to intervene. The Mohammad then left the area where he then stabbed a staff member and another student. He was then shot by campus police and died a short time later.
UC Merced sent an alert to students Wednesday morning warning them stay away from the Classroom and Office Building as there had been a stabbing in front of the building.
The campus was closed for the day on Wednesday and officials say it will reopen on Friday. California Highway Patrol is diverting traffic around campus on Lake Road and Bellevue Road.
Student Alex Lopez said he was heading to class when he realized something was wrong on campus.
"I was listening to a podcast, and there was a break in talking, and I just hear a gunshot," he said.
He said police and first responders flooded the scene.
"You see this stuff all over the news and stuff and you see it happen to all these other schools, but you don't expect it to happen at your school," said Lopez, 21.
"It shouldn't happen here, it shouldn't happen anywhere -- but thinking that a campus so small and so new... you see familiar faces everywhere. It's very unimaginable that something of this magnitude could happen here," said Sarah Mendoza, UC Merced student.
One student said she saw the suspect running from the officer. She said he was wearing all black and had a hood covering most of his face.
The FBI is now involved in the investigation. The Merced County Sheriff's Office is also assisting in the investigation.
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The school with more than 6,600 students is about 60 miles north of Fresno in the farm-rich San Joaquin Valley. The campus in the city of Merced opened a decade ago and is the newest college in the University of California system.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
